Friday's Photo: This is James Bryan, NOT Joseph Bryan. Please change this in your on-line public tree.

James Bryan was born in 1814 to Reddick Bryan and 

his first wife - her name is unknown. James was married to 

Alice Mary Wimberly. James and his family settled in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, in 1838.

In 2015, I posted a less straightforward version of this content. I'm writing this today to set the record straight and hope some readers will update the photos in their family trees accordingly. 

A scanned copy of this image of James Bryan was initially provided to me sometime before 2004 by Bryan family members who incorrectly believed it depicted James' half-brother Joseph B. Bryan. Following its receipt, I uploaded it as Joseph B. Bryan on my website. This, unfortunately, led to its widespread misattribution in numerous family trees online. 

 

Years after posting this photo, the error was discovered while examining a collection once owned by Marguerite Cook Clark. Marguerite's mother, Maggie Martin Cook, had marked the image as "Uncle Jimmie Bryan." Despite Maggie never meeting James, as she was born three years after his death, she grew to adulthood, residing in the Bienville Parish community with her grandfather, Joseph B. Bryan, and other extended Bryan family members who knew and loved James Bryan. 

James Bryan (left) - Joseph B. Bryan (right)
When numerous photos were enlarged, photos labeled 
James appeared to have dark, maybe brown eyes, and 
known photos of Joseph B. show that he had
lighter eyes, possibly blue. 

This need for correction was further supported after consulting with Maureen Taylor, a photo expert. She pointed out inconsistencies when comparing this photo against known photos of Joseph B. Bryan. A notable clue was the different beard patterns seen on each man. Beard patterns are uniquely consistent throughout a man's life.

Additional support for James's identity came from other labeled photos in Marguerite Cook Clark's photo collection and in the Frye family's collection, as well as a copy of a photo page from James Bryan's family Bible, found in a file at a library in Conroe, Texas. This file was compiled by Vera Scott Wimberly, author of The Wimberly Family History, Ancestors, Relatives, and Descendants of William Wimberly, Pioneer from Georgia to Louisiana 1837.

These photos were found in a photo album seen while visiting Marguerite Cook Clark's 
daughter, Palma, in Texas. 

These framed photos of James and Alice were seen at the Frye home in California and were identified on the back as James Bryan and Alice Bryan.

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page, where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2024 

Framed hand-colored photos of James Bryan and Alice Mary Wimberly, photograph, n.d.; scanned image, from the privately held photo collection of the Frye Family, San Francisco, 2019.

James Bryan and Alice Mary Wimberly, photographs, n.d.; digital images, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Photos were accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016.

Joseph B. Bryan, photograph, n.d.; digital image, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Photos were accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016.

Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective (https://maureentaylor.com/: accessed 1 May 2024). 

Vera Meeks Wimberly, Wimberly Family History, Ancestors, Relatives, and Descendants of William Wimberly, Pioneer from Georgia to Louisiana 1837 (Houston Texas: D. Anderson, 1979), 337-341.